Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

I thought these posts would be easy! Ha! Blogging about anything was pushed unceremoniously down the to do list, where it has sat pouting ever since.

So to continue on, we spent ten days driving around Cornwall-my first time. Then then three days in Lyme Regis. As it happens the highway from Brighton to Lanner, where we stayed in Cornwall went past this old thing. If you haven’t been to Stonehenge then you may not know that it is visible from the highway. There was a plan to build a tunnel under it but that has not eventuated. Apparently, the traffic jams up as people slow down to look at the stones.

Cornwall is a great place for the physically active, particularly in summer. Walks, cliff walks, beaches and so on. There were a few places we didn’t get to, but here’s some of what we did. We made sure to eat Cornish pasties and Cornish cream teas. My waist still bears the scars of too much clotted cream!

This is me and my water bottle (I got ribbed for not hiding it) overlooking Porthcurno beach. Next to me is an open air theatre on the cliff. For Poldark tragics the bay behind features in the TV series.

That’s the view down to the beach! Eep! Steep.

And that’s the beach proper, with real sand. Nearby is a museum of communication as apparently the cables that connect to the rest of the world leave from here and there’s a WW2 bunker that you can walk through. Well worth the visit.

During our trip to Cornwall we did not go everywhere. The place is alive with beaches and the weather was amazing. We visited nearby Land’s End, who wouldn’t? And that was a bit of a fizzer. It’s now a huge pay car park with possibly entertainment and stuff. We just left. The next trip we took was to north Cornwall. I’m a Doc Martin fan so we headed up to Port Issac where the TV show is set. We had no idea they were filming until we walked into the town and had access blocked. But we did see cast members and scenes being shot from a distance. The crew were amazing. And I got that photo of me in Doc Martin’s doorway.

Walking down to the town.

A shot where the crew were discussing the filming. I’m pretty sure that’s Martin Clunes in the blue T-shirt and sunnies on his head.

This is Ian McNiece heading to the set. I was in the restaurant right by the shooting. He was so generous, letting people take photos with him.

Me at the door to Doc Martin’s surgery. It was up for rent!

Opposite Doc Martin’s cottage.

The beach at Port Issac. We couldn’t see much because they were filming down there.

These are some of the shots of filming. I think I got a glimpse of the main cast. You could not believe how excited my daughter and I were. I end with the Port Issac cross. Then on to Tintagel, because it was close by.

Tintagel was a disappointment really. The castle ruins were closed. We did a tour of the old post office as we had National Trust memberships. But otherwise it was touristy, and there was even a gift store to buy dogs souvenirs.

This used to be a house and it’s very old.

This is as close as we could get to the ruins. The bridge was being repaired.

Next we went to Penzance, which was a pretty town.

Some interesting buildings.

We went to drive around the castle. We didn’t go in. But there was a car park with a great view so I took this shot.

Down in the bay, watching dogs play fetch.

Near Penzance. St Michael’s Mount is near here. We didn’t go in but it was very impressive.

Next trip was Lizard Point and Kynance Cove. The track to the cove gave me some cool ideas for a book I’m thinking about. A longish walk but a decent cafe and cute beach. At Lizard Point we went souvenir shopping. Nick’s father was stationed there during the war so he bought a serpentine clock (green type of stone).

Kydance Cove

The long, easy walk!

A glimpse!

The beach at Kydance Cove.

We also went to Falmouth, a really pretty place.

And this is me in our little miner’s cottage that we rented. It wasn’t big enough to swing a cat in, but the patio was its saving virtue.

Now to Lyme Regis, but first we stopped into a National Trust property called Lanhydrock, Bodmin, Cornwall. It was once a Jacobean house that was refurbished after the Victorian style after a fire in 1881. What’s interesting about this place beyond the 30 or so rooms that are open and the magnificent grounds is the access to the below stairs-kitchens, nurseries, storerooms

Some shots of the grounds. The head gardener’s cottage.

Then from the inside.

And my favourite place, the lady of the house’s boudoir.

Below stairs.

And now for Lyme Regis- I definitely want to visit here again, preferably closer to the beach.

So for you Austen fans, the cobb features in various movie versions of Persuasion as well as in the books. It is the first thing I went to see and walk on. I found walking on the top of the cobb scary and walking from the stone stairs to the bottom even scarier. The other thing it is famous for is that it is on the Jurassic Coast. That’s right, fossil hunting.

My first view of Lyme Regis from the top of the hill, where our accomodation was situated. Then a walk down the hill.

A walk through the park to get to the cobb.

A view of the beach at Lyme.

A view of the marina, from the cobb.

A view along the cobb. It slopes down so it’s scary to walk along.

A view down the stairs. I couldn’t do it. I got dizzy.

The next day we did walk along the base.

Along the beach front. And next the jurassic cliffs. The mud between the layers is millions of years old.

Me fossicking for fossils.

Me at nearby Westbay.

I’ve got more but there’s too much already. Next post is the trip home from Lyme Regis via Jane Austen’s cottage at Chawton and also some pics from London and Harry Potter world.

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